Not Everything is Black and White

Let me tell you about some experiences I have had.

First, I had a male coworker who would do just about anything to make people happy. It did not matter if it was a patron or fellow coworker. He always had the most cheery disposition and never failed to make a friend of anyone he met. In his daily work, he did his hardest to make sure that his patrons were well-taken care of and that they found books to suite their tastes.

Second, once while grocery shopping I was approached by a man. I never met him before and my then fiance (now husband) was a few feet away. The guy, who was much older and very professionally dressed, touched my shoulder and suggested that we get to know each other better. Needless to say, this situation made me feel uncomfortable.

Based on this information, which person do you like least? Which situation bothers you the most? Just stop and think for a while.

Now what if I told you the person in the the first scenario was black and the person in the second was white? Does this change the opinions you just generated? If it does, you are discriminating against race. In today’s era, this is not acceptable. No type of discrimination on race, religion, or other category is. We live in a world where there are universal human rights proclaimed by the United Nations. And here in the United States, the Constitution protects the rights of all citizens to be equal, a fact more elegantly stated in the Declaration of Independence (“We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal…”).

If you want to discriminate, look at each person at an individual level. Judge a person for their actions and base the discrimination on those qualities instead, not their race, culture, religion, sexual identification, etc. And because they discriminate based on race and/or religion is why acts by white supremacists of any type should be condemned. Plus, don’t forget we fought one war to end slavery and help an oppressed group gain rights and another against the Nazis and their genocidal discrimination.

Sorry to break up the tail end of Book Review Summer, but I would be remiss if I just sat back after all that has been happening. Feel free to share any respectful thoughts or lessons learned in the comments.